No Tommy No!

I will say if Ryan passes former representative Mark Neumann has a stronger chance of landing the Republican nomination. If he runs against Tammy Baldwin, no problem. However, if the Dems manage a strong candidate, I don’t know. This state is still really purple and I don’t see both Senate seats going red.

There’s been talk of Kleefisch stepping in as a Senatorial candidate. (I can’t say anything nice about that, so I’ll shut up for now.)

Comments

Tommy Thompson is hardly the poster child for Tea Party grassroots types, but I don’t think he has to be. I believe he could handedly run and win both the primary and the general. However, the question remains, does Thompson have enough political capitol to thwart any primary challengers? While most Republicans will probably bow to Thompson, what remains to be seen is what Mark Neumann will do. Yesterday, when asked if he would not run if Paul Ryan did, Neumann said, “I wouldn’t go that far.” Neumann is the least likely to bow to any external pressure at this point.

That’s a really good point about big-government Republicans. Thompson (Mr. Build that train!) and Gingrich are two of the biggest the party has. I’d love to use the past tense “had” and be done with them.

If Thompson is the nominee, a Dem will win. Remember his stunning presidential campaign? Yeah, most don’t…

With Feingold, it isn’t so much that he’s burned out. It’s that he still can’t believe he lost. That campaign was run on fumes of arrogance. Believe me, I worked it. No one thought Wisconsin voters were stupid enough to choose Johnson over Feingold.

Guess again!

I like Tammy Baldwin. Some outstate voters will not like her “Madison” ties, but honestly it’s better than having “Milwaukee” ties for these rural peeps. Tammy would have a strong showing in Western Wisconsin, and the margin in Dane County would be historic.

I don’t think we can afford to lose Ron Kind’s House seat and I don’t see him as particularly impressive. The DCCC will have something to say about that.

Barbara Lawton? Nope. She’s been relegated in WI politics as an albatross of the Dopey Jim Doyle administration.

Feingold didnt lose to rojo’s arrogance he lost to rojo’s millions…..but now that we have seen rojo in action it isnt pretty. Luckily for him we have Sean duffy as an elected rep so rojo cant claim the dumbest rep in congress award.

Hey JeSi, RuFe lost the election. It’s not about the how but the what, no matter how much you spin it. Sen. Johnson has 5 1/2 years to go. Join the real world and maybe show a little respect for the man that defeated your guy.

“If you include the campaign spending reported by Feingold during the previous five years of the official election cycle (2005-2009), then Feingold’s spending total climbs to $19.4 million (about $5 million more than what Johnson spent) and the two candidates’ combined spending exceeds $33 million.”

The more I think about it, the more I think Tommy Thompson will have to sell the Tommy Thompson “brand” to win the U.S. Senate seat. It will be harder for him to sell voters on what he can do to reform or change Washington, D.C. He’s no tea party savior like Ron Johnson. He’s no budget hawk like Paul Ryan. He’s certainly no “get in the face of Republican leadership even if it costs you a committee assignment” person like Mark Neumann. He’s just Tommy Thompson. He made us feel good about being a Wisconsinite. He was the state’s best cheerleader. Those were good days. If he can convince voters that he’s still that man, then he might get the nod.

So, it really depends upon how this race gets defined. Any likely challenger to Tommy Thompson will have to define this race early, and on their terms.

If it’s defined on issues, then Tommy Thompson is in trouble. I’m most concerned about his support for Medicare Part D and how it was estimated to cost only $400 billion – but now it’s more like $1.2 trillion.

If Tommy Thompson succeeds in making this into a personality/popularity contest, then he coasts.